Haven't made it in a long time but love one that has spinach, pine nuts, garlic, halved grape tomatoes, and feta cheese w/ olive oil. Don't remember the exact measurements off the top of my head but everyone raves about it.

Cook orzo according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain well. Combine orzo, zucchini, and onion in a large bowl; toss well. Combine parsley and next 6 ingredients (parsley through pepper); stir well with a whisk. Stir into orzo mixture; add tomato, cheese, and olives, tossing gently to coat.

I made up one for a potluck last week. I cooked about 2/3 package orzo in salted water, drained, and rinsed immediately in cold water until cool to keep them from sticking. When well-drained a drizzled about 1 Tbsp olive oil on the pasta and tossed thoroughly. In the meantime, I had roasted 1 bunch asparagus, sliced diagonally in i-inch slices, 1/2 a red bell pepper in small chunks, and 8 oz baby portabellas, thickly sliced, sprayed with olive oil cooking spray before putting in the oven. I tossed together the pasta and the vegetables, adding a can of artichoke heart quarters, drained. The dressing was 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 2 Tbsp dijon mustard, 1 tsp dried basil, 2 generous pinches of sugar, freshly-ground salt & pepper.

It was a hit -- it was the only dish that was eaten up completely.

bekki

05-17-2004, 01:36 PM

I love, love, love this salad. I often add chicken to it as well.

(this is a re-post!)

This is a Barefoot Contessa recipe I saw on the TV show. I made few changes with the veggies (zuccini instead of eggplant and added mushrooms). Just the pasta, dressing and veggies alone is pretty good (totally cut back on the oil, there was so much from the veggies, more than a couple tbls was too much for the dressing), the addition of green onion and feta (and I threw in some roasted chicken too) was outstanding. I've been eating it for lunch for the past few days, and it's still great.

Toss the eggplant, bell peppers, onion, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, and pepper on a large sheet pan. Roast for 40 minutes, until browned, turning once with a spatula.

Meanwhile, cook the orzo in boiling salted water for 7 to 9 minutes, until tender. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the roasted vegetables to the pasta, scraping all the liquid and seasonings from the roasting pan into the pasta bowl.

For the dressing, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper and pour on the pasta and vegetables. Let cool to room temperature, then add the scallions, pignolis, feta, and basil. Check the seasonings, and serve at room temperature. (Although, it's good cold as well)

How timely! I made this salad for lunch (and dinner...) today, and it was really great. I wish I hadn't halved it! It's a very light, springy, garlickly, yummy salad that's easy to put together. It's from Weight Watcher's Take out Tonight. I made the pesto, too, which was actually really tasty. I liked it without all of the oil, which surprised me. Usually I love my pesto swimming in oil.

Cook the orzo according to package directions; drain, reserving 2 T of the cooking liquid in a cup. Rinse the orzo under cool water until lukewarm, then drain well.

Put the broccoli in a steamer basket; set in a saucepan over 1 inch of boiling water. Cover tightly and steam the broccoli until bright green and crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Rinse under cool water until lukewarm, then drain well.

Stir the mayonnaise, pesto, the 2 T of reserved cooking water, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add the orzo, broccoli, and shrimp; toss to coat.

Puree the ingredients in a blender or food processor until a smooth paste is formed.

PAMMELA

05-18-2004, 11:18 AM

Originally posted by funnybone
[B]I love the Black Bean and Orzo salad from several years back. I actually just made it again on the weekend. I don't know why, but DH always keeps calling the orzo RICE. :rolleyes:

[B]

Oh my does this sound fabulous!! I'm going to make this for my bbq party i'm having on June 5. Going to replace the pasta salad I was going to make. I guess I will quadruple it for 35+ people?? Since I will be making a potato salad also. Thanks funnybone!

YUM!

PAMMELA

05-18-2004, 11:19 AM

bumpitybump:rolleyes:

Terrytx

05-20-2004, 11:59 AM

I sort of made the Black Bean and Orzo Salad last night. Our tomatoes are getting ripe very fast, so I subbed tomato for the red bell pepper. Didn't have any orzo so I used barley, and subbed cilantro for the parsley. YUM-excellent-a keeper for sure. I can't believe I've never made this recipe before.